Mixed media reality recognition using multiple specialized indexes

ABSTRACT

An MMR system for searching across multiple indexes comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a pre-processing server or MMR gateway, and an MMR matching unit, and may include an MMR publisher. The MMR matching unit receives an image from the pre-processing server or MMR gateway and sends it to one or more of the recognition units to identify a result including a document, the page, and the location on the page. The MMR matching unit includes a distributor for distributing the image to corresponding content type specific index tables and an integrator for integrating recognition results. The result is returned to the mobile device via the pre-processing server or MMR gateway. The techniques described herein also include a number of novel methods including a method for processing content-type specific image queries and for processing queries across multiple indexes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/729,458, titled “Mixed Media Reality Recognition Using Multiple Specialized Indexes,” filed Dec. 28, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/240,590, titled “Mixed Media Reality Recognition Using Multiple Specialized Indexes,” filed Sep. 29, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,369,655. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/240,590, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,369,655, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,017, titled “System And Methods For Creation And Use Of A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,702,673; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,279, titled “Method And System For Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,600,989; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,286, titled “Method And System For Document Fingerprinting Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,335,789; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,294, titled “Method And System For Position-Based Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,332,401; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,300, titled “Method And System For Multi-Tier Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,521,737; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,126, titled “Integration And Use Of Mixed Media Documents,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,195,659; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,143, titled “User Interface For Mixed Media Reality,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,156,427; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,268, titled “Authoring Tools Using A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. 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No. 11/624,466, titled “Synthetic Image and Video Generation from Ground Truth Data” filed Jan. 18, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,970,171. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/059,583 claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/949,232, titled “Invisible Junction Feature Recognition for Document Security or Annotation” filed Jul. 11, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/060,194 claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/949,050, titled “Paper-based Social Networking with MMR” filed Jul. 11, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,272 claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/807,654, titled “Layout-Independent MMR Recognition” filed Jul. 18, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,005,831; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/792,912, titled “Systems and Method for the Creation of a Mixed Document Environment” filed Apr. 17, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/710,767, titled “Mixed Document Reality” filed Aug. 23, 2005. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,294, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,332,401, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/957,080 titled “Techniques for Retrieving Documents Using an Image Capture Device” filed Oct. 1, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,489,583. The above referenced applications are each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to techniques for indexing and searching for mixed media documents formed from at least two media types, and more particularly, to recognizing images and other data using multiple-index Mixed Media Reality (MMR) recognition that uses printed media in combination with electronic media to retrieve mixed media documents.

2. Background of the Invention

Document printing and copying technology has been used for many years in many contexts. By way of example, printers and copiers are used in commercial office environments, in home environments with personal computers, and in document printing and publishing service environments. However, printing and copying technology has not been thought of previously as a means to bridge the gap between static printed media (i.e., paper documents), and the “virtual world” of interactivity that includes the likes of digital communication, networking, information provision, advertising, entertainment and electronic commerce.

Printed media has been the primary source of communicating information, such as news papers and advertising information, for centuries. The advent and ever-increasing popularity of personal computers and personal electronic devices, such as personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and cellular telephones (e.g., cellular camera phones), over the past few years has expanded the concept of printed media by making it available in an electronically readable and searchable form and by introducing interactive multimedia capabilities, which are unparalleled by traditional printed media.

Unfortunately, a gap exists between the electronic multimedia-based world that is accessible electronically and the physical world of print media. For example, although almost everyone in the developed world has access to printed media and to electronic information on a daily basis, users of printed media and of personal electronic devices do not possess the tools and technology required to form a link between the two (i.e., for facilitating a mixed media document).

Moreover, there are particular advantageous attributes that conventional printed media provides such as tactile feel, no power requirements, and permanency for organization and storage, which are not provided with virtual or digital media. Likewise, there are particular advantageous attributes that conventional digital media provides such as portability (e.g., carried in storage of cell phone or laptop) and ease of transmission (e.g., email).

One particular problem is that a publisher cannot allow access to electronic versions of content using printed versions of the content. For example, for the publisher of a newspaper there is no mechanism that allows its users who receive the printed newspaper on a daily basis to use images of the newspaper to access the same online electronic content as well as augmented content. Moreover, while the publisher typically has the content for the daily newspaper in electronic form prior to printing, there currently does not exist a mechanism to easily migrate that content into an electronic form with augmented content.

A second problem in the prior art is that the image capture devices that are most prevalent and common as part of mobile computing devices (e.g., cell phones) produce low-quality images. In attempting to compare the low-quality images to pristine versions of printed documents, recognition is very difficult if not impossible. Thus there is a need for a method for recognizing low-quality images.

A third problem in the prior art is that the image recognition process is computationally very expensive and can require seconds if not minutes to accurately recognize the page and location of a pristine document from an input query image. This can especially be a problem with a large data set, for example, millions of pages of documents. Thus, there is a need for mechanisms to improve the speed in which recognition can be performed.

A fourth problem in the prior is that comparing low-quality images to a database of pristine images often produces a number of possible matches. Furthermore, when low-quality images are used as the query image, multiple different recognition algorithms may be required in order to produce any match. Currently the prior art does not have a mechanism to combine the recognition results into a single result that can be presented to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art with an MMR system for searching multiple indexes. The system is particularly advantageous because it provides smaller, more specialized indexes that provide faster and/or more accurate search results. The system is also advantageous because its unique architecture can be easily adapted and updated.

In one embodiment, the MMR system comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a computer, a pre-processing server or MMR gateway, and an MMR matching unit. Some embodiments also include an MMR publisher. The mobile devices are communicatively coupled to the pre-processing server or MMR gateway to send retrieval requests including image queries and other contextual information. The pre-processing server or MMR gateway processes the retrieval request and generates an image query that is passed on to the MMR matching unit. The MMR matching unit includes a dispatcher, a plurality of recognition units, and index tables, as well as an image registration unit. The MMR matching unit receives the image query and identifies a result including a document, the page, and the location on the page corresponding to the image query. The MMR matching unit includes a segmenter for segmenting received images by content type, a distributor for distributing the images to corresponding content type index tables, and an integrator for integrating recognition results according to one embodiment. The result is returned to the mobile device via the pre-processing server or MMR gateway.

The present invention also includes a number of novel methods including a method for processing content-type specific image queries and for processing queries across multiple indexes.

The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the figures and description. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system of mixed media reality using multiple indexes in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of another embodiment of a system of mixed media reality using multiple indexes in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a mobile device, network, and pre-processing server or MMR gateway configured in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a mobile device, network, and pre-processing server or MMR gateway configured in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 2C-2H are block diagrams of various embodiments of a mobile device plug-in, pre-processing server or MMR gateway, and MMR matching unit showing various possible configurations in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a pre-processing server in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram of an embodiment of an MMR gateway in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a MMR matching unit in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the MMR matching unit in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the MMR matching unit in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a dispatcher in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 6A-6F are block diagrams showing several configurations of an image retrieval unit in accordance with various embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a registration unit in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a quality predictor in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for retrieving a document and location from an input image in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a flowchart of a method of updating a high priority index using actual image queries received in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart of a method of updating a high priority index using image query projections in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method for updating a high priority index in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for image-feature-based ordering in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method for processing image queries across multiple index tables in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method for segmenting and processing image queries in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An architecture for a mixed media reality (MMR) system 100 capable of receiving the query images and returning document pages and location as well as receiving images, hot spots, and other data and adding such information to the MMR system is described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention. For example, the present invention is described in one embodiment below with reference to use with a conventional mass media publisher, in particular a newspaper publisher. However, the present invention applies to any type of computing systems and data processing in which multiple types of media including electronic media and print media are used.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. In particular the present invention is described below in the content of two distinct architectures and some of the components are operable in both architectures while others are not.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

Finally, the algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatuses to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is described without reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein.

System Overview

FIG. 1A shows an embodiment of an MMR system 100 a in accordance with the present invention. The MMR system 100 a comprises a plurality of mobile devices 102 a-102 n, a pre-processing server 103, and an MMR matching unit 106. In an alternative embodiment, the pre-processing server 103 and its functionality are integrated into the MMR matching unit 106. The present invention provides an MMR system 100 a for processing image queries across multiple indexes, including high priority indexes, and updating the same. The MMR system 100 a is particularly advantageous because it provides smaller, more specialized indexes that provide faster and/or more accurate search results. The MMR system 100 a is also advantageous because its unique architecture can be easily adapted and updated.

The mobile devices 102 a-102 n are communicatively coupled by signal lines 132 a-132 n, respectively, to the pre-processing server 103 to send a “retrieval request.” A retrieval request includes one or more of “image queries,” other contextual information, and metadata. In one embodiment, an image query is an image in any format, or one or more features of an image. Examples of image queries include still images, video frames and sequences of video frames. The mobile devices 102 a-102 n are mobile computing devices such as mobile phones, which include a camera to capture images. It should be understood that the MMR system 100 a will be utilized by thousands or even millions of users. Thus, even though only two mobile devices 102 a, 102 n are shown, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the pre-processing server 103 may be simultaneously coupled to, receive and respond to retrieval requests from numerous mobile devices 102 a-102 n. Alternate embodiments for the mobile devices 102 a-102 n are described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

As noted above, the pre-processing server 103 is able to couple to thousands if not millions of mobile computing devices 102 a-102 n and service their retrieval requests. The pre-processing server 103 also may be communicatively coupled to the computer 110 by signal line 130 for administration and maintenance of the pre-processing server 103. The computer 110 can be any conventional computing device such as a personal computer. The main function of the pre-processing server 103 is processing retrieval requests from the mobile devices 102 a-102 n and returning recognition results back to the mobile devices 102 a-102 n. In one embodiment, the recognition results include one or more of a Boolean value (true/false) and if true, a page ID, and a location on the page. In other embodiments, the recognition results also include one or more from the group of actions, a message acknowledging that the recognition was successful (or not) and consequences of that decision, such as the sending of an email message, a document, actions defined within a portable document file, addresses such as URLs, binary data such as video, information capable of being rendered on the mobile device 102, menus with additional actions, raster images, image features, etc. The pre-processing server 103 generates an image query and recognition parameters from the retrieval request according to one embodiment, and passes them on to the MMR matching unit 106 via signal line 134. Embodiments and operation of the pre-processing server 103 are described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 3A.

The MMR matching unit 106 receives the image query from the pre-processing server 103 on signal line 134 and sends it to one or more of recognition units to identify a result including a document, the page and the location on the page corresponding to the image query, referred to generally throughout this application as the “retrieval process.” The result is returned from the MMR matching unit 106 to the pre-processing server 103 on signal line 134. In addition to the result, the MMR matching unit 106 may also return other related information such as hotspot data. The MMR matching unit 106 also includes components for receiving new content and updating and reorganizing index tables used in the retrieval process. The process of adding new content to the MMR matching unit 106 is referred to generally throughout this application as the “registration process.” Various embodiments of the MMR matching unit 106 and is components are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4A-8.

FIG. 1B shows an embodiment of a MMR system 100 b in accordance with the present invention. The MMR system 100 b comprises a plurality of mobile devices 102 a-102 n, an MMR gateway 104, an MMR matching unit 106, an MMR publisher 108 and a computer 110. The present invention provides, in one aspect, an MMR system 100 b for use in newspaper publishing. The MMR system 100 b for newspaper publishing is particularly advantageous because provides an automatic mechanism for a newspaper publisher to register images and content with the MMR system 100 b. The MMR system 100 b for newspaper publishing is also advantageous because it has a unique architecture adapted to respond to image queries formed of image portions or pages of a printed newspaper. The MMR system 100 b is also advantageous because it provides smaller, more specialized indexes that provide faster and/or more accurate search results, and its unique architecture can be easily adapted and updated.

The mobile devices 102 a-102 n are similar to those described above, except that they are communicatively coupled by signal lines 132 a-132 n, respectively, to the MMR gateway 104 to send a “retrieval request,” rather than to the pre-processing server 103. It should be understood that the MMR system 100 b will be utilized by thousands or even millions of users that receive a traditional publication such as a daily newspaper.

As noted above, the MMR gateway 104 is able to couple to hundreds if not thousands of mobile computing devices 102 a-102 n and service their retrieval requests. The MMR gateway 104 is also communicatively coupled to the computer 110 by signal line 130 for administration and maintenance of the MMR gateway 104 and running business applications. In one embodiment, the MMR gateway 104 creates and presents a web portal for access by the computer 110 to run business applications as well as access logs of use of the MMR system 100 b. The computer 110 in any conventional computing device such as a personal computer. The main function of the MMR gateway 104 is processing retrieval requests from the mobile devices 102 a-102 n and return recognition results back to the mobile devices 102 a-102 n. The types of recognition results produced by the MMR gateway 104 are similar as to those described above in conjunction with pre-processing server 103. The MMR gateway 104 processes received retrieval requests by performing user authentication, accounting, analytics and other communication. The MMR gateway 104 also generates an image query and recognition parameters from the retrieval request, and passes them on to the MMR matching unit 106 via signal line 134. Embodiments and operation of the MMR gateway 104 are described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 3B.

The MMR matching unit 106 is similar to that described above in conjunction with FIG. 1A, except that the MMR matching unit 106 receives the image query from the MMR gateway 104 on signal line 134 as part of the “retrieval process.” The result is returned from the MMR matching unit 106 to the MMR gateway 104 on signal line 134. In one embodiment, the MMR matching unit 106 is coupled to the output of the MMR publisher 108 via signal lines 138 and 140 to provide new content used to update index tables of the MMR matching unit 106. In an alternate embodiment, the MMR publisher 108 is coupled to the MMR gateway 104 by signal line 138 and the MMR gateway 104 is in turn coupled by signal line 136 to the MMR matching unit 106. In this alternate environment, MMR gateway 104 extracts augmented data such as hotspot information stores it and passes the images page references and other information to the MMR matching unit 106 for updating of the index tables.

The MMR publisher 108 includes a conventional publishing system used to generate newspapers or other types of periodicals. In one embodiment, the MMR publisher 108 also includes components for generating additional information needed to register images of printed documents with the MMR system 100. The information provided by the MMR publisher 108 to the MMR matching unit 106 includes an image file, bounding box data, hotspot data, and a unique page identification number. In one embodiment, this is a document in portable document format by Adobe Corp. of San Jose Calif. and bounding box information.

Mobile Device 102

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the first and second embodiment for the mobile device 102 will be described.

FIG. 2A shows a first embodiment of the coupling 132 between the mobile device 102 and the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104, according to the above-described embodiments of system 100 a, 100 b. In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the mobile device 102 is any mobile phone (or other portable computing device with communication capability) that includes a camera. For example, the mobile device 102 may be a smart phone such as the Blackberry® manufactured and sold by Research In Motion. The mobile device 102 is adapted for wireless communication with the network 202 by a communication channel 230. The network 202 is a conventional type such as a cellular network maintained by wireless carrier and may include a server. In this embodiment, the mobile device 102 captures an image and sends the image to the network 202 over communications channel 230 such as by using a multimedia messaging service (MMS). The network 202 can also use the communication channel 230 to return results such as using MMS or using a short message service (SMS). As illustrated, the network 202 is in turn coupled to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 by signal lines 232. Signal lines 232 represent a channel for sending MMS or SMS messages as well as a channel for receiving hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests and sending HTTP responses. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this is just one example of the coupling between the mobile device 102 and the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. In an alternate embodiment for example, Bluetooth®, WiFi, or any other wireless communication protocol may be used as part of communication coupling between the mobile device 102 and the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. The mobile device 102 and the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 could be coupled in any other ways understood by those skilled in the art (e.g., direct data connection, SMS, WAP, email) so long as the mobile device 102 is able to transmit images to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 and the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 is able to respond by sending document identification, page number, and location information.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, a second embodiment of the mobile device 102 is shown. In this second embodiment, the mobile device 102 is a smart phone such as the iPhone™ manufactured and sold by Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino Calif. The second embodiment has a number of components similar to those of the first embodiment, and therefore, like reference numbers are used to reference like components with the same or similar functionality. Notable differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment include an MMR matching plug-in 205 that is installed on the mobile device 102, and a Web server 206 coupled by signal line 234 to the network 202. The MMR matching plug-in 205 analyzes the images captured by the mobile device 102, acting similar to dispatcher 402 as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 4A. The MMR matching plug-in 205 provides additional information produced by its analysis and includes that information as part of the retrieval request sent to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 to improve the accuracy of recognition. In an alternate embodiment, the output of the MMR matching plug-in 205 is used to select which images are transmitted from the mobile device 102 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. For example, only those images that have a predicted quality above a predetermined threshold (e.g., images capable of being recognized) are transmitted from the mobile device 102 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. Since transmission of images requires significant bandwidth and the communication channel 230 between the mobile device 102 and the network 202 may have limited bandwidth, using the MMR matching plug-in 205 to select which images to transmit is particularly advantageous. In addition, the MMR matching plug-in 205 may allow for recognition on the mobile device 102 it sells, e.g., using a device HPI 411′ such as will be discussed in conjunction with FIG. 6F. Thus, in one embodiment, the MMR matching plug-in 205 acts as a mini-MMR matching unit 104.

The second embodiment shown in FIG. 2B also illustrates how the results returned from the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104, or other information provided by the MMR matching plug-in 205, can be used by the mobile device 102 to access hotspot or augmented information available on a web server 206. In such a case, the results from the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 or output of the MMR matching plug-in 205 would include information that can be used to access Web server 206 such as with a conventional HTTP request and using web access capabilities of the mobile device 102.

It should be noted that regardless of whether the first embodiment or the second embodiment of the mobile device 102 is used, the mobile device 102 generates the retrieval request that may include: a query image, a user or device ID, a command, and other contact information such as device type, software, plug-ins, location (for example if the mobile device includes a GPS capability), device and status information (e.g., device model, macro lens on/off status, autofocus on/off, vibration on/off, tilt angle, etc), context-related information (weather at the phone's location, time, date, applications currently running on the phone), user-related information (e.g., id number, preferences, user subscriptions, user groups and social structures, action and action-related meta data such as email actions and emails waiting to be sent), quality predictor results, image features, etc.

Referring now to FIGS. 2C-2H, various embodiments are shown of a plug-in (client 250) for the mobile device 102, the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 (referred to as just MMR gateway for FIGS. 2C-2H), and MMR matching unit 106 represented generally as including a server 252 that has various possible configurations in accordance with the present invention. More particularly, FIGS. 2C-2H illustrate how the components of the plug-in or client 250 can have varying levels of functionality and the server 252 can also have varying levels of functionality that parallel or match with the functionality of the client 250. In the various embodiments of FIGS. 2C-2H, either the client 250 or the server 252 includes: an MMR database 254; a capture module 260 for capturing an image or video; a preprocessing module 262 for processing the image before feature extraction for improved recognition such as quality prediction; a feature extraction module 264 for extracting image features; a retrieval module 266 for using features to retrieve information from the MMR database 254; a send message module 268 for sending messages from the server 252 to the client 250; an action module 270 for performing an action; a preprocessing and prediction module 272 for processing the image prior to feature extraction; a feedback module 274 for presenting information to the user and receiving input; a sending module 276 for sending information from the client 250 to the server 252; and a streaming module 278 for streaming video from the client 250 to the server 252.

FIG. 2C illustrates one embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the client 250 sends an image or video and/or metadata to the server 252 for processing. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes the capture module 260. The server 252 includes: the MMR database 254, the preprocessing module 262, the feature extraction module 264, the retrieval module 266, the send message module 268 and the action module 270.

FIG. 2D illustrates another embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the client 250 captures an image or video, runs quality prediction, and sends an image or video and/or metadata to the server 252 for processing. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes: the capture module 260, the preprocessing and prediction module 272, the feedback module 274 and the sending module 276. The server 252 includes: the MMR database 254, the preprocessing module 262, the feature extraction module 264, the retrieval module 266, the send message module 268 and the action module 270. It should be noted that in this embodiment the image sent to the server 252 may be different than the captured image. For example, it may be digitally enhanced, sharpened, or may be just binary data.

FIG. 2E illustrates another embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the client 250 captures an image or video, performs feature extraction and sends image features to the server 252 for processing. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes: the capture module 260, the feature extraction module 264, the preprocessing and prediction module 272, the feedback module 274 and the sending module 276. The server 252 includes: the MMR database 254, the retrieval module 266, the send message module 268 and the action module 270. It should be noted that in this embodiment feature extraction may include preprocessing. After features are extracted, the preprocessing and prediction module 272 may run on these features and if the quality of the features is not satisfactory, the user may be asked to capture another image.

FIG. 2F illustrates another embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the entire retrieval process is performed at the client 250. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes: the capture module 260, the feature extraction module 264, the preprocessing and prediction module 272, the feedback module 274 and the sending module 276, the MMR database 254, and the retrieval module 266. The server 252 need only have the action module 270.

FIG. 2G illustrates another embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the client 250 streams video to the server 252. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes the capture module 260 and a streaming module 278. The server 252 includes the MMR database 254, the preprocessing module 262, the feature extraction module 264, the retrieval module 266, the send message module 268 and the action module 270. Although not shown, the client 250 can run a predictor in the captured video stream and provide user feedback on where to point the camera or how to capture better video for retrieval. In a modification of this embodiment, the server 252 streams back information related to the captured video and the client 250 can overlay that information on a video preview screen.

FIG. 2H illustrates another embodiment for the client 250 and the server 252 in which the client 250 runs a recognizer and the server 252 streams MMR database information to a local database operable with the client 250 based upon a first recognition result. This embodiment is similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 2F. For example, the entire retrieval process for one recognition algorithm is run at the client 250. If the recognition algorithm fails, the query is handed to the server 252 for running more complex retrieval algorithm. In this embodiment, the client 250 includes: the capture module 260, the feature extraction module 264, the preprocessing and prediction module 272, the feedback module 274, the sending module 276, the MMR database 254 (a local version), and the retrieval module 266. The server 252 includes another retrieval module 266, the action module 270 and the MMR database 254 (a complete and more complex version). In one embodiment, if the query image cannot be recognized with the local MMR database 254, the client 250 sends an image for retrieval to the server 252 and that initiates an update of the local MMR database 254. Alternatively, the client 250 may contain an updated version of a database for one recognizer, but if the query image cannot be retrieved from the local MMR database 254, then a database for another retrieval algorithm may be streamed to the local MMR database 254.

Pre-Processing Server 103

Referring now to FIG. 3A, one embodiment of the pre-processing server 103 is shown. This embodiment of the pre-processing server 103 comprises an operating system (OS) 301, a controller 303, a communicator 305, a request processor 307, and applications 312, connected to system bus 325. Optionally, the pre-processing server 103 also may include a web server 304, a database 306, and/or a hotspot database 404.

As noted above, one of the primary functions of the pre-processing server 103 is to communicate with many mobile devices 102 to receive retrieval requests and send responses including a status indicator (true=recognized/false=not recognized), a page identification number, a location on the page and other information, such as hotspot data. A single pre-processing server 103 can respond to thousands or millions of retrieval requests. For convenience and ease of understanding only a single pre-processing server 103 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 3A, however, those skilled in the art will recognize that in other embodiments any number of pre-processing servers 103 may be utilized to service the needs of a multitude of mobile devices 102. More particularly, the pre-processing server 103 system bus 325 is coupled to signal lines 132 a-132 n for communication with various mobile devices 102. The pre-processing server 103 receives retrieval requests from the mobile devices 102 via signal lines 132 a-132 n and sends responses back to the mobile devices 102 using the same signal lines 132 a-132 n. In one embodiment, the retrieval request includes: a command, a user identification number, an image and other context information. For example, other context information may include: device information such as the make, model or manufacture of the mobile device 102; location information such as provided by a GPS system that is part of the mobile device or by triangulation; environmental information such as time of day, temperature, weather conditions, lighting, shadows, object information; and placement information such as distance, location, tilt and jitter.

The pre-processing server 103 also is coupled to signal line 130 for communication with the computer 110. Again, for convenience and ease of understanding only a single computer 110 and signal line 130 are shown in FIGS. 1A and 3A, but any number of computing devices may be adapted for communication with the pre-processing server 103. The pre-processing server 103 facilitates communication between the computer 110 and the operating system (OS) 301, a controller 303, a communicator 305, a request processor 307, and applications 312. The OS 301, controller 303, communicator 305, request processor 307, and applications 312 are coupled to system bus 325 by signal line 330.

The pre-processing server 103 processes the retrieval request and generates an image query and recognition parameters that are sent via signal line 134, which also is coupled to system bus 325, to the MMR matching unit 106 for recognition. The pre-processing server 103 also receives recognition responses from the MMR matching unit 106 via signal line 134. More specifically, the request processor 307 processes the retrieval request and sends information via signal line 330 to the other components of the pre-processing server 103 as will be described below.

The operating system 301 is preferably a custom operating system that is accessible to computer 110, and otherwise configured for use of the pre-processing server 103 in conjunction with the MMR matching unit 106. In an alternate embodiment, the operating system 301 is one of a conventional type such as, WINDOWS®, Mac OS X®, SOLARIS®, or LINUX® based operating systems. The operating system 301 is connected to system bus 325 via signal line 330.

The controller 303 is used to control the other modules 305, 307, 312, per the description of each below. While the controller 303 is shown as a separate module, those skilled in the art will recognize that the controller 303 in another embodiment may be distributed as routines in other modules. The controller 303 is connected to system bus 325 via signal line 330.

The communicator 305 is software and routines for sending data and commands among the pre-processing server 103, mobile devices 102, and MMR matching unit 106. The communicator 305 is coupled to signal line 330 to send and receive communications via system bus 325. The communicator 305 communicates with the request processor 307 to issue image queries and receive results.

The request processor 307 processes the retrieval request received via signal line 330, performing preprocessing and issuing image queries for sending to MMR matching unit 106 via signal line 134. In some embodiments, the preprocessing may include feature extraction and recognition parameter definition, in other embodiments these parameters are obtained from the mobile device 102 and are passed on to the MMR matching unit 106. The request processor 307 also sends information via signal line 330 to the other components of the pre-processing server 103. The request processor 307 is connected to system bus 325 via signal line 330.

The one or more applications 312 are software and routines for providing functionality related to the processing of MMR documents. The applications 312 can be any of a variety of types, including without limitation, drawing applications, word processing applications, electronic mail applications, search application, financial applications, and business applications adapted to utilize information related to the processing of retrieval quests and delivery of recognition responses such as but not limited to accounting, groupware, customer relationship management, human resources, outsourcing, loan origination, customer care, service relationships, etc. In addition, applications 312 may be used to allow for annotation, linking additional information, audio or video clips, building e-communities or social networks around the documents, and associating educational multimedia with recognized documents.

System bus 325 represents a shared bus for communicating information and data throughout pre-processing server 103. System bus 325 may represent one or more buses including an industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB), or some other bus known in the art to provide similar functionality. Additional components may be coupled to pre-processing server 103 through system bus 325 according to various embodiments.

The pre-processing server 103 optionally also includes a web server 304, a database 306, and/or a hotspot database 404 according to one embodiment.

The web server 304 is a conventional type and is responsible for accepting requests from clients and sending responses along with data contents, such as web pages, documents, and linked objects (images, etc.) The Web server 304 is coupled to data store 306 such as a conventional database. The Web server 304 is adapted for communication via signal line 234 to receive HTTP requests from any communication device, e.g., mobile devices 102, across a network such as the Internet. The Web server 304 also is coupled to signal line 330 as described above to receive Web content associated with hotspots for storage in the data store 306 and then for later retrieval and transmission in response to HTTP requests. Those skilled in the art will understand that inclusion of the Web server 304 and data store 306 as part of the pre-processing server 103 is merely one embodiment and that the Web server 304 and the data store 306 may be operational in any number of alternate locations or configuration so long as the Web server 304 is accessible to mobile devices 102 and computers 110 via the Internet.

In one embodiment, the pre-processing server 103 also includes a hotspot database 404. The hotspot database 404 is shown in FIG. 3A with dashed lines to reflect inclusion in the pre-processing server 103 is an alternate embodiment. The hotspot database 404 is coupled by signal line 436 to receive the recognition responses via line 134. The hotspot database 404 uses these recognition responses to query the database and output via line 432 and system bus 325 the hotspot content corresponding to the recognition responses. This hotspot content is included with the recognition responses sent to the requesting mobile device 102.

MMR Gateway 104

Referring now to FIG. 3B, one embodiment of the MMR gateway 104 is shown. This embodiment of the MMR gateway 104 comprises a server 302, a Web server 304, a data store 306, a portal module 308, a log 310, one or more applications 312, an authentication module 314, an accounting module 316, a mail module 318, and an analytics module 320.

As noted above, one of the primary functions of the MMR gateway 104 is to communicate with many mobile devices 102 to receive retrieval requests and send responses including a status indicator (true=recognized/false=not recognized), a page identification number, a location on the page and other information such as hotspot data. A single MMR gateway 104 can respond to thousands or millions of retrieval requests. For convenience and ease of understanding only a single MMR gateway 104 is shown in FIGS. 1B and 3B, however, those skilled in the art will recognize that in other embodiments any number of MMR gateways 104 may be utilized to service the needs of a multitude of mobile devices 102. More particularly, the server 302 of the MMR gateway 104 is coupled to signal lines 132 a-132 n for communication with various mobile devices 102. The server 302 receives retrieval requests from the mobile devices 102 via signal lines 132 a-132 n and sends responses back to the mobile devices 102 using the same signal lines 132 a-132 n. In one embodiment, the retrieval request includes: a command, a user identification number, an image and other context information. For example, other context information may include: device information such as the make, model or manufacture of the mobile device 102; location information such as provided by a GPS system that is part of the mobile device or by triangulation; environmental information such as time of day, temperature, weather conditions, lighting, shadows, object information; and placement information such as distance, location, tilt, and jitter.

The server 302 is also coupled to signal line 130 for communication with the computer 110. Again, for convenience and ease of understanding only a single computer 110 and signal line 130 are shown in FIGS. 1B and 3B, but any number of computing devices may be adapted for communication with the server 302. The server 302 facilitates communication between the computer 110 and the portal module 308, the log module 310 and the applications 312. The server 302 is coupled to the portal module 308, the log module 310 and the applications 312 by signal line 330. As will be described in more detail below, the module cooperate with the server 302 to present a web portal that provides a user experience for exchanging information. The Web portal 308 can also be used for system monitoring, maintenance and administration.

The server 302 processes the retrieval request and generates an image query and recognition parameters that are sent via signal line 134 to the MMR matching unit 106 for recognition. The server 302 also receives recognition responses from the MMR matching unit 106 via 5 signal line 134. The server 302 also processes the retrieval request and sends information via signal line 330 to the other components of the MMR gateway 104 as will be described below. The server 302 is also adapted for communication with the MMR publisher 108 by signal line 138 and the MMR matching unit 106 via signal line 136. The signal line 138 provides a path for the MMR publisher 108 to send Web content for hotspots to the Web server 304 and to provide other information to the server 302. In one embodiment, the server 302 receives information from the MMR publisher 108 and sends that information via signal line 136 for registration with the MMR matching unit 106.

The web server 304 is a conventional type and is responsible for accepting requests from clients and sending responses along with data contents, such as web pages, documents, and linked objects (images, etc.) The Web server 304 is coupled to data store 306 such as a conventional database. The Web server 304 is adapted for communication via signal line 234 to receive HTTP requests from any communication device across a network such as the Internet. The Web server 304 is also coupled to signal line 138 as described above to receive web content associated with hotspots for storage in the data store 306 and then for later retrieval and transmission in response to HTTP requests. Those skilled in the art will understand that inclusion of the Web server 304 and data store 306 as part of the MMR gateway 104 is merely one embodiment and that the Web server 304 and the data store 306 may be operational in any number of alternate locations or configuration so long as the Web server 304 is accessible to mobile devices 102 and computers 110 via the Internet.

In one embodiment, the portal module 308 is software or routines operational on the server 302 for creation and presentation of the web portal. The portal module 308 is coupled to signal line 330 for communication with the server 302. In one embodiment, the web portal provides an access point for functionality including administration and maintenance of other components of the MMR gateway 104. In another embodiment, the web portal provides an area where users can share experiences related to MMR documents. In yet another embodiment, the web portal is an area where users can access business applications and the log 310 of usage.

The log 310 is a memory or storage area for storing a list of the retrieval request received by the server 302 from mobile devices 102 and all corresponding responses sent by the server 302 to the mobile device. In another embodiment, the log 310 also stores a list of the image queries generated and sent to the MMR matching unit 106 and the recognition responses received from the MMR matching unit 106. The log 310 is communicatively coupled to the server 302 by signal line 330.

The one or more business applications 312 are software and routines for providing functionality related to the processing of MMR documents. In one embodiment the one or more business applications 312 are executable on the server 302. The business applications 312 can be any one of a variety of types of business applications adapted to utilize information related to the processing of retrieval quests and delivery of recognition responses such as but not limited to accounting, groupware, customer relationship management, human resources, outsourcing, loan origination, customer care, service relationships, etc.

The authentication module 314 is software and routines for maintaining a list of authorized users and granting access to the MMR system 110. In one embodiment, the authentication module 314 maintains a list of user IDs and passwords corresponding to individuals who have created an account in the system 100, and therefore, are authorized to use MMR gateway 104 and the MMR matching unit 106 to process retrieval requests. The authentication module 314 is communicatively coupled by signal line 330 to the server 302. But as the server 302 receives retrieval requests they can be processed and compared against information in the authentication module 314 before generating and sending the corresponding image query on signal line 134. In one embodiment, the authentication module 314 also generates messages for the server 302 to return to the mobile device 102 instances when the mobile device is not authorized, the mobile device has not established an account, or the account for the mobile device 102 is locked such as due to abuse or lack of payment.

The accounting module 316 is software and routines for performing accounting related to user accounts and use of the MMR system 100. In one embodiment, the retrieval services are provided under a variety of different economic models such as but not limited to use of the MMR system 100 under a subscription model, a charge per retrieval request model or various other pricing models. In one embodiment, the MMR system 100 provides a variety of different pricing models and is similar to those currently offered for cell phones and data networks. The accounting module 316 is coupled to the server 302 by signal line 330 to receive an indication of any retrieval request received by the server 302. In one embodiment, the accounting module 316 maintains a record of transactions (retrieval request/recognition responses) processed by the server 302 for each mobile device 102. Although not shown, the accounting module 316 can be coupled to a traditional billing system for the generation of an electronic or paper bill.

The mail module 318 is software and routines for generating e-mail and other types of communication. The mail module 318 is coupled by signal at 330 to the server 302. In one embodiment, the mobile device 102 can issue retrieval request that include a command to deliver a document or a portion of a document or other information via e-mail, facsimile or other traditional electronic communication means. The mail module 318 is adapted to generate and send such information from the MMR gateway 104 to an addressee as prescribed by the user. In one embodiment, each user profile has associated addressees which are potential recipients of information retrieved.

The analytics module 320 is software and routines for measuring the behavior of users of the MMR system 100. The analytics module 320 is also software and routines for measuring the effectiveness and accuracy of feature extractors and recognition performed by the MMR matching unit 106. The analytics module 320 measures use of the MMR system 100 including which images are most frequently included as part of retrieval requests, which hotspot data is most often accessed, the order in which images are retrieved, the first image in the retrieval process, and other key performance indicators used to improve the MMR experience and/or a marketing campaign's audience response. In one embodiment, the analytics module 320 measures metrics of the MMR system 100 and analyzes the metrics used to measure the effectiveness of hotspots and hotspot data. The analytics module 320 is coupled to the server 302, the authentication module 314 and the accounting module 316 by signal line 330. The analytics module 320 is also coupled by the server 302 to signal line 134 and thus can access the components of the MMR matching unit 106 to retrieve recognition parameter, images features, quality recognition scores and any other information generated or use by the MMR matching unit 106. The analytics module 320 can also perform a variety of data retrieval and segmentation based upon parameters or criteria of users, mobile devices 102, page IDs, locations, etc.

In one embodiment, the MMR gateway 104 also includes a hotspot database 404. The hotspot database 404 is shown in FIG. 3B with dashed lines to reflect that inclusion in the MMR gateway 104 is an alternate embodiment. The hotspot database 404 is coupled by signal line 436 to receive the recognition responses via line 134. The hotspot database 404 uses these recognition responses to query the database and output via line 432 the hotspot content corresponding to the recognition responses. This hotspot content is sent to the server 302 so that it can be included with the recognition responses and sent to the requesting mobile device 102.

MMR Matching Unit 106

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4C, three embodiments for the MMR matching unit 106 will be described. The basic function of the MMR matching unit 106 is to receive an image query, send the image query for recognition, perform recognition on the images in the image query, retrieve hotspot information, combine the recognition result with hotspot information, and send it back to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104.

FIG. 4A illustrates a first embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106. The first embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106 comprises a dispatcher 402, a hotspot database 404, an acquisition unit 406, an image registration unit 408, and a dynamic load balancer 418. The acquisition unit 406 further comprises a plurality of the recognition units 410 a-410 n and a plurality of index tables 412 a-412 n. The image registration unit 408 further comprises an indexing unit 414 and a master index table 416.

The dispatcher 402 is coupled to signal line 134 for receiving an image query from and sending recognition results to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. The dispatcher 402 is responsible for assigning and sending an image query to respective recognition units 410 a-410 n. In one embodiment, the dispatcher 402 receives an image query, generates a recognition unit identification number and sends the recognition unit identification number and the image query to the acquisition unit 406 for further processing. The dispatcher 402 is coupled to signal line 430 to send the recognition unit identification number and the image query to the recognition units 410 a-410 n. The dispatcher 402 also receives the recognition results from the acquisition unit 406 via signal line 430. One embodiment for the dispatcher 402 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5.

An alternate embodiment for the hotspot database 404 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 3A-3B wherein the hotspot database is part of the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. However, the preferred embodiment for the hotspot database 404 is part of the MMR matching unit 106 as shown in FIG. 4A. Regardless of the embodiment, the hotspot database 404 has a similar functionality. The hotspot database 404 is used to store hotspot information. Once an image query has been recognized and recognition results are produced, these recognition results are used as part of a query of the hotspot database 404 to retrieve hotspot information associated with the recognition results. The retrieved hotspot information is then output on signal line 134 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 for packaging and delivery to the mobile device 102. As shown in FIG. 4A, the hotspot database 404 is coupled to the dispatcher 402 by signal line 436 to receive queries including recognition results. The hotspot database 404 is also coupled by signal line 432 and signal line 134 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 for delivery of query results. The hotspot database 404 is also coupled to signal line 136 to receive new hotspot information for storage from the MMR publisher 108, according to one embodiment.

The acquisition unit 406 comprises the plurality of the recognition units 410 a-410 n and a plurality of index tables 412 a-412 n. Each of the recognition units 410 a-410 n has and is coupled to a corresponding index table 412 a-412 n. In one embodiment, each recognition unit 410/index table 412 pair is on the same server. The dispatcher 402 sends the image query to one or more recognition units 410 a-410 n. In one embodiment that includes redundancy, the image query is sent from the dispatcher 402 to a plurality of recognition units 410 for recognition and retrieval and the index tables 412 a-n index the same data. In the serial embodiment, the image query is sent from the dispatcher 402 to a first recognition unit 410 a. If recognition is not successful on the first recognition unit 410 a, the image query is passed on to a second recognition unit 410 b, and so on. In yet another embodiment, the dispatcher 402 performs some preliminary analysis of the image query and then selects a recognition unit 410 a-410 n best adapted and most likely to be successful at recognizing the image query. Those skilled in the art will understand that there are a variety of configurations for the plurality of recognition units 410 a-410 n and the plurality of index tables 412 a-412 n. Example embodiments for the acquisition unit 406 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 6A-6F. It should be understood that the index tables 412 a-412 n can be updated at various times as depicted by the dashed lines 434 from the master index table 416.

The image registration unit 408 comprises the indexing unit 414 and the master index table 416. The image registration unit 408 has an input coupled to signal on 136 to receive updated information from the MMR publisher 108, according to one embodiment, and an input coupled to signal line 438 to receive updated information from the dynamic load balancer 418. The image registration unit 408 is responsible for maintaining the master index table 416 and migrating all or portions of the master index table 416 to the index tables 412 a-412 n (slave tables) of the acquisition unit 406. In one embodiment, the indexing unit 414 receives images, unique page IDs, and other information; and converts it into index table information that is stored in the master index table 416. In one embodiment, the master index table 416 also stores the record of what is migrated to the index table 412. The indexing unit 414 also cooperates with the MMR publisher 108 according to one embodiment to maintain a unique page identification numbering system that is consistent across image pages generated by the MMR publisher 108, the image pages stored in the master index table 416, and the page numbers used in referencing data in the hotspot database 404.

One embodiment for the image registration unit 408 is shown and described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 7.

The dynamic load balancer 418 has an input coupled to signal line 430 to receive the query image from the dispatcher 402 and the corresponding recognition results from the acquisition unit 406. The output of the dynamic load balancer 418 is coupled by signal line 438 to an input of the image registration unit 408. The dynamic load balancer 418 provides input to the image registration unit 408 that is used to dynamically adjust the index tables 412 a-412 n of the acquisition unit 406. In particular, the dynamic load balancer 418 monitors and evaluates the image queries that are sent from the dispatcher 402 to the acquisition unit 406 for a given period of time. Based on the usage, the dynamic load balancer 418 provides input to adjust the index tables 412 a-412 n. For example, the dynamic load balancer 418 may measure the image queries for a day. Based on the measured usage for that day, the index tables may be modified and configured in the acquisition unit 406 to match the usage measured by the dynamic load balancer 418.

FIG. 4B illustrates a second embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106. In the second embodiment, many of the components of the MMR matching unit 106 have the same or a similar function to corresponding elements of the first embodiment. Thus, like reference numbers have been used to refer to like components with the same or similar functionality. The second embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106 includes the dispatcher 402, the hotspot database 404, and the dynamic load balancer 418 similar to the first embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106. However, the acquisition unit 406 and the image registration unit 408 are different than that described above with reference to FIG. 4A. In particular, the acquisition unit 406 and the image registration unit 408 utilize a shared SQL database for the index tables and the master table. More specifically, there is the master index table 416 and a mirrored database 418 that includes the local index tables 412 a-n. Moreover, conventional functionality of SQL database replication is used to generate the mirror images of the master index table 416 stored in the index tables 412 a-n for use in recognition. The image registration unit 408 is configured so that when new images are added to the master index table 416 they are immediately available to all the recognition units 410. This is done by mirroring the master index table 416 across all the local index tables 412 a-n using large RAM (not shown) and database mirroring technology.

FIG. 4C illustrates a third embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106. In the third embodiment, many of the components of the MMR matching unit 106 have the same or a similar function to corresponding elements of the first and second embodiments. Thus, like reference numbers have been used to refer to like components with the same or similar functionality. The third embodiment of the MMR matching unit 106 includes the dispatcher 402, the hotspot database 404, and the dynamic load balancer 418 similar to the first and second embodiments of the MMR matching unit 106. However, the acquisition unit 406 and the image registration unit 408 are different than that described above with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In particular, the acquisition unit 406 and the image registration unit 408 utilize a single shared SQL database (master index table 416). The image registration unit 408 is configured so that when new images are added to the master index table 416 they are immediately available to all the recognition units 410. The recognition units 410 a-410 n and the index unit 414 are communicatively coupled to the master index table 416. This embodiment is particularly advantageous because it uses a simplified version of the recognition servers, as each of them need not maintain a separate index table that needs updating. In addition, consistency among multiple databases is not a concern.

Dispatcher 402

Referring now to FIG. 5, an embodiment of the dispatcher 402 shown. The dispatcher 402 comprises a quality predictor 502, an image feature order unit 504, a distributor 506, a segmenter 505, and an integrator 509. The quality predictor 502, the image feature order unit 504, the segmenter 505, and the distributor 506 are coupled to signal line 532 to receive image queries from the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. The distributor 506 is also coupled to receive the output of the quality predictor 502, image feature order unit 504, and segmenter 505. The distributor 506 includes a FIFO queue 508 and a controller 510. The distributor 506 generates an output on signal line 534 that includes the image query and a recognition unit identification number (RUID). Those skilled in the art will understand that in other embodiments the image query may be directed to any particular recognition unit using a variety of means other than the RUID. As image queries are received on the signal line 532, the distributor 506 receives the image queries and places them in the order in which they are received into the FIFO queue 508. The controller 510 receives a recognizability score for each image query from the quality predictor 502 and also receives an ordering signal from the image feature order unit 504. In some embodiments, the segmenter 505 determines image content type and segments the image query into content-type specific image queries. Using this information from the quality predictor 502, the image feature order unit 504, and the segmenter 505, the controller 510 selects image queries from the FIFO queue 508, assigns them to particular recognition units 410 and sends the image query to the assigned recognition unit 410 for processing. The controller 510 maintains a list of image queries assigned to each recognition unit 410 and the expected time to completion for each image (as predicted by the image feature order unit 504). The total expected time to empty the queue for each recognition unit 410 is the sum of the expected times for the images assigned to it. The controller 510 can execute several queue management strategies. In a simple assignment strategy, image queries are removed from the FIFO queue 508 in the order they arrived and assigned to the first available recognition unit 410. In a balanced response strategy, the total expected response time to each query is maintained at a uniform level and query images are removed from the FIFO queue 508 in the order they arrived, and assigned to the FIFO queue 508 for a recognition unit so that its total expected response time is as close as possible to the other recognition units. In an easy-first strategy, images are removed from the FIFO queue 508 in an order determined by their expected completion times—images with the smallest expected completion times are assigned to the first available recognition unit. In this way, users are rewarded with faster response time when they submit an image that's easy to recognize. This could incentivize users to carefully select the images they submit. Other queue management strategies are possible.

The dispatcher 402 also receives the recognition results from the recognition units 410 on signal line 530. The recognition results include a Boolean value (true/false) and if true, a page ID, and a location on the page. In one embodiment, the dispatcher 402 merely receives and retransmits the data to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. In another embodiment, the dispatcher 402 includes an integrator 509 for integrating the received recognition results into an integrated result, similar to the functionality described for result combiner 610, as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 6B.

The quality predictor 502 receives image queries and generates a recognizability score used by the dispatcher 402 to route the image query to one of the plurality of recognition units 410. In one embodiment, the quality predictor 502 also receives as inputs context information and device parameters. In one embodiment, the recognizability score includes information specifying the type of recognition algorithm most likely to produce a valid recognition result.

The image feature order unit 504 receives image queries and outputs an ordering signal. The image feature order unit 504 analyzes an input image query and predicts the time required to recognize an image by analyzing the image features it contains. The difference between the actual recognition time and the predicted time is used to adjust future predictions thereby improving accuracy, as further described in conjunction with FIG. 12. In the simplest of embodiments, simple images with few features are assigned to lightly loaded recognition units 410 so that they will be recognized quickly and the user will see the answer immediately. In one embodiment, the features used by the image order feature unit 504 to predict the time are different than the features used by recognition units 410 for actual recognition. For example, the number of corners detected in an image is used to predict the time required to analyze the image. The feature set used for prediction need only be correlated with the actual recognition time. In one embodiment, several different features sets are used and the correlations to recognition time measured over some period. Eventually, the feature set that is the best predictor and lowest cost (most efficient) would be determined and the other feature sets could be discarded. The operation of the image feature order unit 504 is described in more detail below and can be better understood with reference to FIG. 12.

Acquisition Unit 406

Referring now to FIGS. 6A-6F, embodiments of the acquisition unit 406 will be described.

FIG. 6A illustrates one embodiment for the acquisition unit 406 where the recognition unit 410 and index table 412 pairs are partitioned based on the content or images that they index. This configuration is particularly advantageous for mass media publishers that provide content on a periodic basis. The organization of the content in the index tables 412 can be partitioned such that the content most likely to be accessed will be available on the greatest number of recognition unit 410 and index table 412 pairs. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the partition described below is merely one example and that various other partitions based on actual usage statistics measured over time can be employed. As shown in FIG. 6A, the acquisition unit 406 comprises a plurality of recognition units 410 a-h and a plurality of index tables 412 a-h. The plurality of recognition units 410 a-h is coupled to signal line 430 to receive image queries from the dispatcher 402. Each of the plurality of recognition units 410 a-h is coupled to a corresponding index table 412 a-h. The recognition units 410 extract features from the image query and compare those image features to the features stored in the index table to identify a matching page and location on that page. Example recognition and retrieval systems and methods are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,017, titled “System And Methods For Creation And Use Of A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,279, titled “Method And System For Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,286, titled “Method And System For Document Fingerprinting Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,294, titled “Method And System For Position-Based Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,300, titled “Method And System For Multi-Tier Image Matching In A Mixed Media Environment,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,147, titled “Data Organization and Access for Mixed Media Document System,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,164, titled “Database for Mixed Media Document System,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,109, titled “Searching Media Content For Objects Specified Using Identifiers,” filed Jul. 31, 2006; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/059,583, titled “Invisible Junction Feature Recognition For Document Security Or Annotation,” filed Mar. 31, 2008; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/121,275, titled “Web-Based Content Detection In Images, Extraction And Recognition,” filed May 15, 2008; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/776,510, titled “Invisible Junction Features For Patch Recognition,” filed Jul. 11, 2007; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/776,520, titled “Information Retrieval Using Invisible Junctions and Geometric Constraints,” filed Jul. 11, 2007; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/776,530, titled “Recognition And Tracking Using Invisible Junctions,” filed Jul. 11, 2007; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/777,142, titled “Retrieving Documents By Converting Them to Synthetic Text,” filed Jul. 12, 2007; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/624,466, titled “Synthetic Image and Video Generation From Ground Truth Data,” filed Jan. 18, 2007; which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the recognition unit 410/index table 412 pairs are grouped according to the content that in the index tables 412. In particular, the first group 612 of recognition units 410 a-d and index tables 412 a-d is used to index the pages of a publication such as a newspaper for a current day according to one embodiment. For example, four of the eight recognition units 410 are used to index content from the current day's newspaper because most of the retrieval requests are likely to be related to the newspaper that was published in the last 24 hours. A second group 614 of recognition units 410 e-g and corresponding index tables 412 e-g are used to store pages of the newspaper from recent past days, for example the past week. A third group 616 of recognition unit 410 h and index table 412 h is used to store pages of the newspaper from older past days, for example for the past year. This allows the organizational structure of the acquisition unit 406 to be optimized to match the profile of retrieval requests received. Moreover, the operation of the acquisition unit 406 can be modified such that a given image query is first sent to the first group 612 for recognition, and if the first group 612 is unable to recognize the image query, it is sent to the second group 614 and then the third group 616 for recognition and so on.

It should be noted that the use of four recognition units 410 and index tables 412 as the first group 612 is merely be by way example and used to demonstrate a relative proportion as compared with the number of recognition units 410 and index tables 412 in the second group 614 and the third group 616. The number of recognition units 410 and index tables 412 in any particular group 612, 614, and 616 may be modified based on the total number of recognition units 410 and index tables 412. Furthermore, the number of recognition units 410 and index tables 412 in any particular group 612, 614, and 616 may adapted so that it matches the profile of all users sending retrieval request to the acquisition unit 406 for a given publication.

Alternatively, the recognition unit 410 and index tables 412 pairs may be partitioned such that there is overlap in the documents they index, e.g., such as segments of a single image according to content type, such as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 14. In this example, image queries are sent to index tables 412 in parallel rather than serially.

FIG. 6B illustrates a second embodiment for the acquisition unit 406 where the recognition units 410 and index tables 412 are partitioned based upon the type of recognition algorithm they implement. In the second embodiment, the recognition units 410 are also coupled such that the failure of a particular recognition unit to generate a registration result causes the input image query to be sent to another recognition unit for processing. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the index tables 412 include feature sets that are varied according to different device and environmental factors of image capture devices (e.g., blur, etc.).

The second embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 includes a plurality of recognition units 410 a-410 e, a plurality of the index tables 412 a-412 e and a result combiner 610. In this embodiment, the recognition units 410 a-410 e each utilizes a different type of recognition algorithm. For example, recognition units 410 a, 410 b and 410 c use a first recognition algorithm; recognition unit 410 d uses a second recognition algorithm; and recognition unit 410 e uses a third recognition algorithm for recognition and retrieval of page numbers and locations. Recognition units 410 a, 410 d, and 410 e each have an input coupled signal line 430 by signal line 630 for receiving the image query. The recognition results from each of the plurality of recognition units 410 a-410 e are sent via signal lines 636, 638, 640, 642 and 644 to the result combiner 610. The output of the result combiner 610 is coupled to signal line 430.

In one embodiment, the recognition units 410 a, 410 b, and 410 c cooperate together with index tables 1, 2, and 3 412 a-412 c each storing image features corresponding to the same pages but with various modifications, e.g., due to different device and environmental factors. For example, index table 1 412 a may store images features for pristine images of pages such as from a PDF document, while index table 2 412 b stores images of the same pages but with a first level of modification and index table 3 412 c stores images of the same pages but with the second level of modifiction. In one embodiment, the index tables 1, 2, and 3 412 a-412 c are quantization trees. The first recognition unit 410 a receives the image query via signal line 630. The first recognition unit 410 a comprises a first type of feature extractor 602 and a retriever 604 a. The first type of feature extractor 602 receives the image query, extracts the Type 1 features, and provides them to the retriever 604 a. The retriever 604 a uses the extracted Type 1 features and compares them to the index table 1 412 a. If the retriever 604 a identifies a match, the retriever 604 a sends the recognition results via signal line 636 to the result combiner 610. If however, the retriever 604 a was unable to identify a match or identifies a match with low confidence, the retriever 604 a sends the extracted Type 1 features to the retriever 604 b of the second recognition unit 410 b via signal line 632. It should be noted that since the Type 1 features already have been extracted, the second recognition unit 410 b does not require a feature extractor 602. The second recognition unit 410 b performs retrieval functions similar to the first recognition unit 410 a, but cooperates with index table 2 412 b that has Type 1 features for modified images. If the retriever 604 b identifies a match, the retriever 604 b sends the recognition results via signal line 638 to the result combiner 610. If the retriever 604 b of the second recognition unit 410 b is unable to identify a match or identifies a match with low confidence, the retriever 604 b sends the extracted features to the retriever 604 c of the third recognition unit 410 c via signal line 634. The retriever 604 c then performs a similar retrieval function but on index table 3 412 c. Those skilled in the art will understand that while one pristine set of images and two levels of modification are provided, this is only by way of example and that any number of additional levels of modification from 0 to n may be used.

The recognition units 410 d and 410 e operate in parallel with the other recognition units 410 a-c. The fourth recognition unit 410 d comprises a second type of feature extractor 606 and a retriever 604 d. The Type 2 feature extractor 606 received the image query, possibly with other image information, parses the image, and generates Type 2 features. These Type 2 features are provided to the retriever 604 d and the retriever 604 d compares them to the features stored in index table 4 412 d. In one embodiment, index table 4 412 d is a hash table. The retriever 604 d identifies any matching pages and returns the recognition results to the result combiner 610 via signal line 642. The fifth recognition unit 410 e operates in a similar manner but for a third type of feature extraction. The fifth recognition unit 410 e comprises a Type 3 feature extractor 608 and a retriever 604 e. The Type 3 feature extractor 608 receives the image query, parses the image and generates Type 3 features and the features are provided to the retriever 604 e and the retriever 604 e compares them to features stored in the index table 5 412 e. In one embodiment, the index table 5 412 e is a SQL database of character strings. The retriever 604 e identifies any matching strings and returns the recognition results to the result combiner 610 via signal line 644.

In one exemplary embodiment the three types of feature extraction include and invisible junction recognition algorithm, brick wall coding, and path coding.

The result combiner 610 receives recognition results from the plurality of recognition units 410 a-e and produces one or a small list of matching results. In one embodiment, each of the recognition results includes an associated confidence factor. In another embodiment, context information such as date, time, location, personal profile, or retrieval history is provided to the result combiner 610. These confidence factors along with other information are used by the result combiner 610 to select the recognition results most likely to match the input image query.

FIGS. 6C-6F are block diagrams of additional embodiments including a high priority index 411 and one or more lower priority indexes (e.g., general index 413).

Referring now to FIG. 6C, another embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 is described. FIG. 6C illustrates one embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 where the recognition unit 410 and index table pairs are partitioned using a high priority index (HPI) 411 and a general index 413. The recognition unit 410 is as described above. Similar to index tables 412, the HPI 411 and general index 413 may be storage devices storing data and instructions, e.g., a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM device, a DVD-ROM device, a DVD-RAM device, a DVD-RW device, a flash memory device, or some other mass storage device known in the art, or may be conventional-type databases that store indices, electronic documents, and other electronic content, feature descriptions, and other information used in the content type comparison and retrieval process.

The HPI 411 stores, in addition to document pages to be searched according to received image queries, for each image, a timestamp corresponding to the most recently received image query associated with that document page, a count of the total image queries matching that document page, and a weight corresponding to that document page, if any. Weights are used, e.g., as a means of maintaining an image in the HPI 411, even if it would be selected for removal based on its timestamp and count. Creation and updating of timestamp, counts, and weights, in conjunction with building of the HPI 411, are discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 11.

The general index 413 stores all document pages to be searched according to the received image queries, and may be a duplicate of the master index table 416, or any of index tables 412 according to various embodiments. Similar to the HPI 411, timestamps, counts, and weights are stored in the general index 413. The timestamps, counts, and weights in the general index 413 are counts of the document pages matching all image queries received, whereas the corresponding timestamps, counts, and weights in the HPI 411 correspond only to document pages stored by the HPI 411.

The partitioning of the recognition unit 410 and index table pairs using an HPI 411 provides faster and/or more accurate results for frequent and/or probable queries due to the relatively small size of the HPI 411. When new image queries arrive they are searched first against the HPI 411. The HPI 411 can be built according to various factors depending upon the search priority. For example, in one embodiment, the HPI 411 could be time-based, such as prioritizing a current time interval periodical, such as today's newspaper, by putting it in the HPI 411, while newspapers for past days are placed in the general index 413. In another embodiment, the HPI 411 is built based on the popularity of received image queries, either based on popularity of the image query by the individual user, across all users, or across some set (or subset) of users (e.g., users within a geographical area). In yet another embodiment, the HPI 411 is built based on self-reported user preferences, such as age, gender, magazine one subscribes to, and preference in music. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these partitioning options are merely examples and that various other partitions based on actual user statistics measured over time, or based on other factors, can be employed. The process used to build the HPI 411 is described in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 11.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the acquisition unit 406 comprises recognition unit 410, HPI index 411, and general index 413. The recognition unit 410 is coupled to signal line 430 to receive image queries from the dispatcher 402. The recognition unit 410 is coupled to corresponding HPI 411, and via HPI 411 to general index 413. The example recognition and retrieval systems and methods referenced in conjunction with FIGS. 6A and 6B also apply to FIG. 6C.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the HPI 411 is smaller than the general index 413, and contains a subset of the data within general index 413. The operation of acquisition unit 406 shown in FIG. 6C is such that a given image query is first sent to the HPI 411 for recognition, and if the HPI 411 is unable to recognize the image query, it is sent to the general index 413 for recognition.

The general index 413 according to various embodiments may be a complete index, e.g., identical to master index table 416 as shown in FIG. 4A, or may include any subset of the data from master index table 416, as distinguished from the subset within the HPI 411.

It should be noted that the use of a single HPI 411 and a single general index 413 is merely by way of example and is used to demonstrate the priority of the HPI(s) 411 over the general index 413. The number of HPIs 411 and general indexes 413 in any particular configuration may vary. For example, in some embodiments multiple HPIs 411 may be used in sequence. In this example, each HPI 411 would provide a greater level of generalization over the previous HPI 411. For example, there could be an HPI 411 for the most common image queries of the last 24 hours that would be searched first, and if no match is found, a second HPI 411 of the most common image queries of all time that would be searched next, and if no match is found, then the general index 413 would be searched. This example advantageously allows for greater degrees of granularity between the HPIs 411.

Referring now to FIG. 6D, another embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 is described. FIG. 6D illustrates one embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 in which the recognition unit 410 and index table pairs are partitioned into multiple HPIs 411 by mobile device 102 user. This configuration is particularly advantageous for personalizing each HPI 411 according to an individual user or user group. A user group may include users with shared preferences, with the same imaging device, with shared demographics, etc.

The organization of the contents in the user recognition units 410 and HPIs 411 can be partitioned such that the content most likely to be accessed by each user or user group will be available using a recognition unit 410 and an HPI 411 specific to the user or user group. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the partition described below is merely one example and that various other partition configurations may be employed.

As shown in FIG. 6D, the acquisition unit 406 comprises a plurality of recognition units 410 a-d, a plurality of HPIs 411 a-d, and a general index 413. As in the above described embodiments, the recognition units 410 a-d are coupled to signal line 430 to received image queries from the dispatcher 402, are coupled to a corresponding HPI 411 a-d, and function as described above. The operation of acquisition unit 406 is such that for a given User A, an image query first is sent to HPI 411 a, and if no match is found, then is sent to general index 413. By establishing an HPI 411 on the individual level, a smaller index specific to the user or user group, and populated with data more likely to be contained in the image query from that user or user group, can be searched first, at savings of time and computation.

Referring now to FIG. 6E, another embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 is described. FIG. 6E illustrates one embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 in which the recognition unit 410 and index pairs are partitioned by geographical location. This configuration is particularly advantageous for image queries with a geographical aspect involved. For example, using information about the location of the user of the mobile device 102, e.g., received as part of the retrieval request using GPS, image queries received from that user can first be submitted to an HPI 411 specific to the location of the user at the time that the image query is received. The recognition unit 410 and HPI 411 may be physically located within the geographical location of the user according to embodiment. This is advantageous with respect to bandwidth and distance considerations when using mobile device communication. For example, a geographical area may be the campus of a university. In this example, the HPI 411 for that location may be located at the university, and may contain images most accessed by other users within the geographical area contained by the university.

The organization of the contents in the user recognition units 410 and HPIs 411 can be partitioned such that the content most likely to be accessed by a user according to his or her location is available using a recognition unit 410 and an HPI 411 pair specific to that location. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the partition described below is merely one example and that various other partition configurations may be employed.

As shown in FIG. 6E, the acquisition unit 406 comprises a plurality of recognition units 410 a-b, a plurality of HPIs 411 a-b, and a general index 413. As in the above described embodiments, the recognition units 410 a-b are coupled to signal line 430 to receive image queries from the dispatcher 402, are coupled to a corresponding HPI 411 a-b, and function as described above. For the embodiment shown in FIG. 6E, the location of the recognition unit 410 and HPI 411 may not be proximate to the primary acquisition unit 406 in this example, additional signal lines such as signal line 132 connecting mobile device 102 and pre-processing server 103/MMR gateway 104, signal line 134 connecting pre-processing server 103/MMR gateway 104, and MMR matching unit 106, or other additional communication means between dispatcher 402 and recognition units 410, also may be used. The operation of acquisition unit 406 is modified such that an image query received from a user within Geographical Area A first is submitted to HPI A 411 a, and if no match is found then is submitted to the general index 413.

Referring now to FIG. 6F, and alternative embodiment of the acquisition unit 406 is described. FIG. 6F illustrates an embodiment for the acquisition unit 406 where the acquisition unit is split into two parts: the acquisition unit 406 within MMR matching unit 106 and a device acquisition unit 406′ on mobile device 102, which is coupled via signal line 650 to device recognition unit for his 410′ and device HPI 411′. In this example, device acquisition unit 406′ may be integrated within MMR matching plug-in 405 as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 2B. This configuration is particularly advantageous because it provides a fast response for the user of mobile device 102, because no communication to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 is required if the match is found in device HPI 411′. The device HPI 411′, and successive HPIs 411 and general indexes 413 may be adjusted in size to account for storage capacity and expected communication delay of mobile device 102. In addition, this embodiment allows for customization specific to the mobile device 102 characteristics, the location of the mobile device 102, and known imaging variations, e.g., blur, typical distance to paper, jitter, specific to the mobile device 102 or device user. In addition, advantages inherent in distributed computing also would be realized with this embodiment.

Acquisition unit 406 includes dispatcher 402 connected via signal line 430 to recognition unit 410, one or more HPIs 411, and one or more general indexes 413. Device acquisition unit 406′ includes device dispatcher 402′, device recognition unit 410′, and device HPI 411′. In one embodiment, device acquisition unit 406′ and its functionality correspond with MMR matching plug-in 205. Like numerals have been used for acquisition unit 406′, dispatcher 402′, recognition unit 410′, and HPI 411′ to denote like functionality. In this example, device dispatcher 402′ is connected to device recognition unit 410′ via signal line 650. Device HPI 411′ may be connected to dispatcher 402 within acquisition unit 406 via the typical path between mobile device 102 and acquisition unit 406, i.e., signal lines 132, 134, and 430 (represented by a dashed line). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the partitioning described in this embodiment is merely one example and the various other partitioning schemes may be employed.

In operation, device acquisition unit 406′ operates directly on images captured by mobile device 102. Similar to dispatcher 402, device dispatcher 402′, operating in conjunction with other portions of MMR matching plug-in 205, sends image queries to device recognition unit 410′. Received image queries first are submit to device HPI 411′, then to the indexes on acquisition unit 406, e.g., 411, 413. For example a received image query from device dispatcher 402′, first would be submit to device HPI 411′, then to HPI 411, then to general index 413.

The above described embodiments in FIG. 6A-6F are not meant to be exclusive or limiting, and may be combined according to other embodiments. For example, an HPI 411 may be based on multiple factors such as age and popularity, and as discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 6C, multiple HPIs 411 may be utilized within a single system 100. In addition, the HPI 411 may be combined with indexes segmented by other aspects such as quality (e.g., blur), content type, or other document imaging-based parameters, such as described in conjunction with FIG. 14.

Image Registration Unit 408

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the image registration unit 408. The image registration unit 408 comprises an image alteration generator 703, a plurality of Type 1 feature extractors 704 a-c, a plurality of Type 1 index table updaters 706 a-c, a Type 2 feature extractor 708, a Type 2 index table updater 710, a Type 3 feature extractor 712, a Type 3 index table updater 714 and a plurality of master index tables 416 a-e. The image registration unit 408 also includes other control logic (not shown) that controls the updating of the working index tables 411-413 from the master index table 416. The image registration unit 408 can update the index tables 411-413 of the acquisition unit 406 in a variety of different ways based on various criteria such performing updates on a periodic basis, performing updates when new content is added, performing updates based on usage, performing updates for storage efficiency, etc.

The image alteration generator 703 has an input coupled in signal line 730 to receive an image and a page identification number. The image alteration generator 703 has a plurality of outputs and each output is coupled by signal lines 732, 734, and 736 to Type 1 extractors 704 a-c, respectively. The image alteration generator 703 passes a pristine image and the page identification number to the output and signal line 732. The image alteration generator 703 then generates a first altered image and outputs it and the page identification number on signal line 734 to Type 1 feature extractor 704 b, and a second altered image, alter differently than the first altered image, and outputs it and page identification number on signal line 736 to Type 1 feature extractor 704 c.

The Type 1 feature extractors 704 receive the image and page ID, extract the Type 1 features from the image and send them along with the page ID to a respective Type 1 index table updater 706. The outputs of the plurality of Type 1 feature extractors 704 a-c are coupled to input of the plurality of Type 1 index table updaters 706 a-c. For example, the output of Type 1 feature extractor 704 a is coupled to an input of Type 1 index table updater 706 a. The remaining Type 1 feature extractors 704 b-c similarly are coupled to respective Type 1 index table updaters 706 b-c. The Type 1 index table updaters 706 are responsible for formatting the extracted features and storing them in a corresponding master index table 416. While the master index table 416 is shown as five separate master index tables 416 a-e, those skilled in the art will recognize that all the master index tables could be combined into a single master index table or into a few master index tables. In the embodiment including the MMR publisher 108, once the Type 1 index table updaters 706 have stored the extracted features in the index table 416, they issue a confirmation signal that is sent via signal lines 740 and 136 back to the MMR publisher 108.

The Type 2 feature extractor 708 and the Type 3 feature extractor 712 operate in a similar fashion and are coupled to signal line 738 to receive the image, a page identification number, and possibly other image information. The Type 2 feature extractor 708 extracts information from the input needed to update its associated index table 416 d. The Type 2 index table updater 710 receives the extracted information from the Type 2 feature extractor 708 and stores it in the index table 416 d. The Type 3 feature extractor 712 and the Type 3 index table updater 714 operate in a like manner but for Type 3's feature extraction algorithm. The Type 3 feature extractor 712 also receives the image, a page number, and possibly other image information via signal line 738. The Type 3 feature extractor 712 extracts Type 3 information and passes it to the Type 3 index table updater 714. The Type 3 index table updater 714 stores the information in index table 5 416 e. The architecture of the registration unit 408 is particularly advantageous because it provides an environment in which the index tables can be automatically updated, simply by providing images and page numbers to the image registration unit 408. According to one embodiment, Type 1 feature extraction is invisible junction recognition, Type 2 feature extraction is brick wall coding, and Type 3 feature extraction is path coding.

Quality Predictor 502

Referring now to FIG. 8, an embodiment of the quality predictor 502 and its operation will be described in more detail. The quality predictor 502 produces a recognizability score (aka Quality Predictor) that can be used for predicting whether or not an image is a good candidate for a particular available image recognition algorithm. An image may not be recognizable based on many reasons, such as motion blur, focus blur, poor lighting, and/or lack of sufficient content. The goal of computing a recognizability score is to be able to label the non-recognizable images as “poor quality,” and label the recognizable images as “good quality.” Besides this binary classification, the present invention also outputs a “recognizability score,” in which images are assigned a score based on the probability of their recognition.

The quality predictor 502 will now be described with reference to an embodiment in which the quality predictor 502 is part of the dispatcher 402 as has been described above and as depicted in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the quality predictor 502 provides a recognizability score as input to the distributor 506 that decides which recognition unit 410 (and thus which recognition algorithm) to run. However, those skilled in the art will realize that there are numerous system configurations in which the quality predictor 502 and the recognizability score are useful and advantageous. In a second embodiment, the quality predictor 502 is run on a capture device (mobile device 102 phone, digital camera, computer 110) to determine if the quality of the captured image is sufficient to be recognized by one of the recognition units 410 of the MMR matching unit 106, or device recognition unit 410′ on the mobile device, e.g., as part of the functionality of device acquisition unit 406′. If the quality of the captured image is sufficient, it is sent to the MMR matching unit 106, or processed within device acquisition unit 406′, if not, the user is simply asked to capture another image. Alternatively, the captured image and the quality predictor score are shown to the user and he/she decides whether it should be submitted to the MMR matching unit 106. In a third embodiment, the quality predictor 502 is part of the result combiner 610, in which there are multiple recognition units 410 and the recognizability score determines how the recognition results are evaluated. In a fourth embodiment, the quality predictor 502 is part of the indexing unit 414 and computation of a recognizability score precedes the indexing process, and the score is used in deciding which indexer/indexers need to be used for indexing the input document page. For example, if the recognizability score is low for the image to be indexed using the brick wall coding (BWC) algorithm, then the image may be indexed using only the invisible junction (IJ) algorithm. Further, the same quality predictor can be used for both indexing and recognition. In a fifth embodiment, the quality predictor 502 is used before the “image capture” process on a mobile device 102. The recognizability score is computed prior to capturing the image, and the mobile device 102 captures an image only if the recognizability score is higher than a threshold. The quality predictor 502 can be embedded in a camera chip according to one embodiment, and can be used to control the mobile device 102 camera's hardware or software. For example, camera aperture, exposure time, flash, macro mode, stabilization, etc. can be turned on based on the requirements of recognition unit 410 and based on the captured image. For example, BWC can recognize blurry text images and capturing blurry images can be achieved by vibrating the mobile device 102.

As shown in FIG. 8, one embodiment of the quality predictor 502 comprises recognition algorithm parameters 802, a vector calculator 804, a score generator 806, and a scoring module 808. The quality predictor 502 has as inputs coupled to signal line 532 to receive an image query, context and metadata, and device parameters. The image query may be video frames, a single frame, or image features. The context and metadata includes time, date, location, environmental conditions, etc. The device parameters include brand, type, macro block on/off, gyro or accelerometer reading, aperture, time, exposure, flash, etc. Additionally, the quality predictor 502 uses certain recognition algorithm parameters 802. These recognition algorithm parameters 802 can be provided to the quality predictor 502 from the acquisition unit 406 or the image registration unit 408. For example, the recognition algorithms 802 may recognize different content types associated with the received image query. The vector calculator 804 computes quality feature vectors from the image to measure its content and distortion, such as its blurriness, existence and amount of recognizable features, luminosity etc. The vector calculator 804 computes any number of quality feature vectors from one to n. In some cases, the vector calculator 804 requires knowledge of the recognition algorithm(s) to be used, and the vector calculator 804 is coupled by signal line 820 the recognition algorithm parameters 802. For example, if an Invisible Junctions algorithm is employed, the vector calculator 804 computes how many junction points are present in the image as a measure of its recognizability. Continuing the above example of recognition of content types within the received image query, in addition the vector calculator 804 may perform a segmenting function on the image query, segmenting it by content type. All or some of these computed features are then input to score generator 806 via signal line 824. The score generator 806 is also coupled by signal line 822 to receive recognition parameters for the recognition algorithm parameters 802. The output of the score generator 806 is provided to the scoring module 808. The scoring module 808 generates a score using the recognition scores provided by the score generator 806 and by applies weights to those scores. In one embodiment, the result is a single recognizability score. In another embodiment, the result is a plurality of recognizability scores ranked from highest to lowest. In some embodiments, the recognizability scores are associated with particular index tables 412.

Methods

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a general method for generating and sending a retrieval request and processing the retrieval request with an MMR system 100. The method begins with the mobile device 102 capturing 902 an image. A retrieval request that includes the image, a user identifier, and other context information is generated by the mobile device 102 and sent 904 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. The pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 processes 906 the retrieval request by extracting the user identifier from the retrieval request and verifying that it is associated with a valid user. The MMR gateway 104 also performs other processing such as recording the retrieval request in the log 310, performing any necessary accounting associated with the retrieval request and analyzing any MMR analytics metrics. Next, the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 generates 908 an image query and sends it to the dispatcher 402. The dispatcher 402 performs load-balancing and sends the image query to the acquisition unit 406. In one embodiment, the dispatcher 402 specifies the particular recognition unit 410 of the acquisition unit 406 that should process the image query. Then the acquisition unit 406 performs 912 image recognition to produce recognition results. The recognition results are returned 914 to the dispatcher 402 and in turn the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. The recognition results are also used to retrieve 916 hotspot data corresponding to the page and location identified in the recognition results. Finally, the hotspot data and the recognition results are sent 918 from the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104 to the mobile device 102.

FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing a method of updating an HPI 411 using the actual image queries received by an MMR matching unit 106 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method begins with the MMR matching unit 106 receiving 1002 an image query. In addition to the responsive retrieval process described herein, the image registration unit 408 queries 1004 whether the received image matches a document page in the current HPI 411. For purposes of this method the HPI 411 can be any of the HPIs 411 described herein, individually or in combination. The method may update one HPI 411 at a time, or several serially or in unison. If the image matches a document page in the current HPI 411, the image registration unit 408 updates 1006 the timestamp, count, and weight associated with the matching document page. The process then ends for the yes branch. If the matching document page does not exist in the current HPI 411, the image registration unit 408 queries 1008 whether the document page count for the received image exceeds a threshold for addition to the HPI 411. The threshold for inclusion in the HPI 411 varies according to different embodiments. According to some embodiments, the threshold may be as low receiving two image queries that match the same document page. For the initial build of the HPI 411, e.g., every document page receiving at least one query image may be added to the HPI 411, and a higher threshold may apply after the HPI 411 has been established for a longer period of time. If the count does not exceed the threshold the process ends. If the count does exceed the threshold, the image registration unit 408 selects 1010 the image for addition to the HPI 411. The remainder of the method proceeds according to FIG. 11.

The method of FIG. 10A thus is based on actual image queries received. Building the HPI 411 according to the method of FIG. 10A may be done on an individual user basis, or may be based on the overall “popularity” of image queries received to be updated to a popularity-based HPI 411. In addition, the process of FIG. 10A may proceed on a real-time or batch update basis. For example, the steps of the method may occur as each image query is received, such that the HPI 411 is updated on a rolling, real-time basis. Alternatively, the steps of the method may occur at the end of the time interval according to all image queries received during that time, such that the HPI 411 is updated on a batch basis, e.g., once a day. While real-time updates will provide the most accurate HPI 411, continuously updating the HPI is computation intensive. Batch updates are less computationally intensive, but are delayed according to the selected time interval for the updates. In some embodiments, a combination of real-time and batch updates may be used. For example, real-time updates may be used for individual HPIs 411, while batch updates may be used for popularity-based HPIs 411.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing a method of updating an HPI 411 using image query projections according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method begins with receiving 1003 a set of document pages for which image queries are projected to be received during a selected next interval. The time interval varies according to different documents, but may be selected according to time to update the HPI 411, in conjunction accuracy of searching and number of updates required.

The data for the image query projections may be determined by the image registration unit 408 and/or may be based on data received from third-party content providers, e.g. publisher 108 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B. For example, tomorrow's newspaper may be projected to be a likely subject of image queries for the interval tomorrow. The image query projections may be based and other data is well, e.g., document pages belonging to the same document as document pages matching received image queries, similarity to recently matched document pages, specificity of a document page to a selected future time interval. For example, assuming a real-time update of the HPI 411, an image query recently received may be more likely to be received again in the near future, and thus in one embodiment real-time updates to the HPI 411 consistently cycle through image queries recently received. In addition, additional data received from the dynamic load balancer 418 may be used to establish the image group rejections.

Once the projected document pages are received, i the image registration unit 408 queries 1004 whether the received document page exists in the current HPI 411. If the image exists in the current HPI 411, the image registration unit 408 updates 1006 the timestamp, count, and weight associated with the predicted image query. The process then ends for the yes branch. If the image does not exist in the current HPI 411, the image registration unit 408 queues 1010 the image for addition to the HPI 411. The remainder of the method proceeds according to FIG. 11.

The method of FIG. 10B thus is based on projected document pages for which matching image queries are expected to be received during an upcoming time interval. Building the HPI 411 according to the method of FIG. 10B may be based on individual user image query projections, or image query projections for a larger population. Typically, the process of FIG. 10B occurs on a batch update basis, e.g., once a day.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method for updating a high priority index in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting a method for updating a HPI 411, using received or projected document pages, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method considers image queries corresponding to document pages selected for inclusion in the HPI 411, and implements a removal policy for document pages in the HPI, e.g., when the HPI 411 is too full to receive the image queries selected for inclusion. The method begins by receiving a document page selected for inclusion in step 1010 of FIG. 10A or 10B. The image registration unit 408 determines 1102 whether the HPI 411 is full. This step is similar to the process described in conjunction with the description of indexing unit 414 and master index table 416 in conjunction with FIG. 4A. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 10A, the method may be implemented using various HPIs 411. If the HPI 411 is not full, the document page is added 1104 to the HPI 411, and a timestamp, count, and weight is logged. According to one embodiment, features extracted from the image associated with the image query received are added to the HPI 411. In other embodiments, features extracted from the entire document page that matched the received image query are stored, or features extracted from all the pages belonging to the same document that matched the image query are stored in the HPI 411. Storing data in addition to the specific image queried can be advantageous in the context of a popularity based HPI 411, e.g., because if one portion of a document is popular, other parts of the document may be popular as well. In addition, adding 1104 the document page to the HPI 411 may include sending the document page to an HPI 411 remote from the image registration unit 408, e.g., a device HPI 411′, as described in conjunction with FIG. 6F. This ends the process for the no branch.

If the HPI 411 is full, the image registration unit 408 determines 1106 a document page for removal from the HPI 411. Document pages may be selected for removal according to various methods, e.g., using the oldest timestamp, lowest count, lowest weight, and/or some combination thereof. In one embodiment, the number of document pages selected for removal from the HPI 411 is equal to the number selected/queued 1010 to be added to the HPI 411. Once selected, the document page(s) is removed 1108 from the HPI. The process then can proceed to step 1104, as described above, to allow the document page to be added to the HPI 411, now that the HPI 411 has space available. As discussed above for FIGS. 10A and 10B, adding document pages to the HPI 411 may occur on a real-time or batch update basis. For example, if the updates occur a real-time, document pages may be selected for addition, and document pages selected for removal, from the HPI 411 as each image query is received. Alternatively, document pages may be removed, and added, to the HPI 411 as a group at the end of the time interval, e.g., a day. This ends the process for the yes branch. In one embodiment, the dynamic load balancer 418 operates in conjunction with the image registration unit 408 for propagating updates to the master indexed table 416 and/or the index tables 411, 412, 413.

Referring now to FIG. 12, one embodiment of a method for performing image feature-based ordering will be described. This functionality of this method is generally implemented by the image feature order unit 504 of the dispatcher 402. Feature-based ordering is a mechanism for organizing the priorities of the image queries waiting to be recognized. The default is FIFO (First-In, First-Out), that is, servicing the image queries in the order they were received. In the case of feature-based ordering, image queries instead are processed based on an estimate on the speed of recognition, e.g., wherein image queries expected to be recognized in a short amount of time being processed earlier, with the goal of maximizing the response time for the largest number of users. The speed of recognition would be estimated in one embodiment by counting the number of features in each received image query; image queries with fewer features would be processed first.

The method begins by receiving 1202 an image query. Next, the image feature order unit 504 of the dispatcher 402 analyzes 1204 the image features in the image query. It should be noted that the image features used in the analysis of step 1204 need not be the same image features used by the recognition units 410. It is only necessary to correlate the image features to recognition. In yet another embodiment, several different feature sets are used and correlations are measured over time. Eventually, the feature set that provides the best predictor and has the lowest computational cost is determined and the other feature sets are discarded. The image feature order unit 504 measures 1206 the time required to recognize the image features and thereby generates a predicted time. Next, the method creates 1208 correlations between features and predicted times. Next method measures 1210 the time actually required by the acquisition unit 406 to recognize the image query. This time required by the acquisition unit 406 is referred to as an actual time. Then the image feature order unit 504 adjusts 1212 the correlations generated in step 1208 by the actual time. The adjusted correlations are then used 1214 to reorder and assign image queries to recognition units. For example, simple images with few features are assigned to lightly loaded servers (recognition units 410 and index table 412 pairs) so that they will be recognize quickly and the user will see receive the answer quickly. While the method shown in FIG. 12 illustrates the process for an image or a small set of images, those skilled in the art will recognize that once many images have been processed with the above method, a number of correlations will be created and the image feature order unit 504 essentially learns the distribution of image features against processing time and then the controller 501 of the distributor 506 can use the distribution to load balance and redirect image queries with particular image features accordingly

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a method for processing image queries across multiple index tables 412 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image queries are processed according to different image processing techniques and recognition parameters. For example, the method may be used for the embodiment described in conjunction with FIG. 6B in which the same image or page is placed in multiple index tables 412 having been processed according to different image processing techniques using various recognition parameters, e.g., such as being blurred by different amounts, before computing features of the image to be indexed. In one embodiment, quality feature vectors may be calculated by the vector calculator 804 as described in conjunction with the quality predictor 502 of FIG. 8. This embodiment is advantageous because more accurate results are produced and recognition is faster using index tables 412 that are tailored to specific recognition parameters.

The method begins with the dispatcher 402 receiving 1302 an image along with recognition parameters corresponding to the image. Continuing the example from above, the image query may be received with recognition parameters corresponding to the level of blur for the received image. In one embodiment, the dispatcher 402 also may receive computation drivers with the image query. Computation drivers include expected recognition speed, maximum recognition accuracy, or perceived recognition speed, and are received from dynamic load balancer 418 according to one embodiment, and may be used e.g., according to the method discussed in conjunction with FIG. 12. Next, recognition parameters are analyzed as associated with the respective index tables 412. In one embodiment, this information may be received from the dynamic load balancer 418. Based on the received information, the dispatcher 402 formulates 1306 an index table 412 submission strategy and index priority. In one embodiment, the output of step 1306 includes a recognition unit identification number (RUID) as discussed in conjunction with the dispatcher 402 of FIG. 5.

One exemplary submission strategy is parallel submission to multiple index tables 412. In this example, the index queries are sent in parallel, and results are received 1308 from each of the index tables 412, e.g. Index 1-n, as shown in FIG. 13. The results from the multiple index tables 412 are then integrated 1310, and the process ends. According to one embodiment, the integration is performed by the integrator 509 of dispatcher 402. According to another embodiment, steps 1308 and 1310 are equivalent to those discussed in FIG. 6B, and the integration is performed by other units, such as the result combiner 610 shown in FIG. 6B. According to yet another embodiment, the dispatcher 402 merely receives and retransmits the data to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104, for integration therein.

A second exemplary submission strategy is serial submission to multiple index tables 412. In this example, the index queries are sent to multiple index tables 412 according to the priority established in step 1306. E.g., a query is first submit 1312 a to Index A, and if a result is found, the process ends. If the result is not found, the query is next submit 1312 b to each index table 412 in turn, through index m, until a result is found and the process ends. The final result is provided via signal line 134 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a method for segmenting received image queries and processing the segmented queries according to one embodiment present invention. In this embodiment, the multiple index tables 412 correspond to different content types. This embodiment is advantageous because more accurate results are produced and recognition is faster using index tables 412 that are tailored to specific image content types. The method begins with the dispatcher 402 receiving 1402 an image query, and other receipt information, for processing. The dispatcher 402 segments 1404 the image query into image segments corresponding to various content types contained with an image. In one embodiment, the segmenter 505 detects content of various types within the received image query and segments the content accordingly. In another embodiment, this function is performed by the quality predictor 502, e.g., using vector calculator 804. Content types may include, among others, black text on white background, black and white natural images, color natural images, tables, black and white bar charts, color bar charts, black and white pie charts, color pie charts, black and white diagrams, color diagrams, headings, and color text. This list of content types is exemplary and not meant to be limiting; other content types may be used. In an alternative embodiment, the dispatcher 402 receives a pre-segmented image query, e.g., the segmenting may be performed by the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104. Next, the dispatcher 402 submits 1406 the segmented queries to one or more corresponding content type index tables 412. In one embodiment, the step includes analysis of the indexed content types, similar to the analysis of step 1304 of FIG. 13. In one embodiment, the output of step 1406 includes an RUID along with the appropriate image query. The dispatcher 402 then receives 1408 results and image associated metrics from each of the index tables 412. In its metrics may include, among others, a competence factor associated with the results, context information such as date, time, location, personal profile, retrieval history, and surface area of the image segment. This information, along with prior probability of correctness for the index tables 412 and level of agreement between results from various index tables, along with other factors, can be used by the dispatcher 402, e.g., at integrator 509, to integrate 1410 the received results. For example, given four index tables 412 corresponding to image types header, black and white text, image, and color text, integrating the results may include ascertaining whether the same result image was produced by each of the index tables 412, at what level of confidence for each, and the probability of correctness associated with each of the index tables 412. In an alternative embodiment, the result integration is performed outside of the dispatcher 402, e.g., by a result combiner 610 as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 6B. The final result is provided via signal line 134 to the pre-processing server 103 or MMR gateway 104.

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims of this application. As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Likewise, the particular naming and division of the modules, routines, features, attributes, methodologies and other aspects are not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement the present invention or its features may have different names, divisions and/or formats. Furthermore, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art, the modules, routines, features, attributes, methodologies and other aspects of the present invention can be implemented as software, hardware, firmware or any combination of the three. Also, wherever a component, an example of which is a module, of the present invention is implemented as software, the component can be implemented as a standalone program, as part of a larger program, as a plurality of separate programs, as a statically or dynamically linked library, as a kernel loadable module, as a device driver, and/or in every and any other way known now or in the future to those of ordinary skill in the art of computer programming. Additionally, the present invention is in no way limited to implementation in any specific programming language, or for any specific operating system or environment. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A dispatcher apparatus having: one or more processors; a distributor stored on a memory and executable by the one or more processors, the distributor for receiving an image, producing one or more content-type specific representations of the image, and submitting the one or more content-type specific representations to one or more content-type specific index tables for recognition; and an integrator stored on the memory and executable by the one or more processors, the integrator for receiving recognition results from the one or more content-type specific index tables, integrating the recognition results into an integrated result based on a level of agreement between the recognition results, and transmitting the integrated result.
 2. The dispatcher apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more content-type specific representations of the image are selected from a group of black text on white background, black and white natural images, color natural images, black and white diagrams, color diagrams, headings, and color text.
 3. The dispatcher apparatus of claim 1, wherein information regarding the one or more content-type specific representations is received with the image.
 4. The dispatcher apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an image feature order unit stored on the memory and executable by the one or more processors, the image feature order unit for analyzing the image and predicting the time required to recognize the image based on features contained in the image.
 5. The dispatcher apparatus of claim 1, wherein integrating the recognition results comprises consideration of at least one factor selected from a competence factor associated with the recognition results, context information for the recognition results, surface area of an image segment, and prior probability of correctness for the one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables.
 6. The dispatcher apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated result includes a determination that a same recognition result was produced by the one or more content-type specific index tables.
 7. A computer-implemented method of processing content-type specific queries, comprising: receiving an image; producing, with one or more processors, one or more content-type specific representations of the image; submitting the one or more content-type specific representations to one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables for recognition; receiving recognition results from the one or more content-type specific index tables; integrating the recognition results into an integrated result based on a level of agreement between the recognition results; and transmitting the integrated result.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein information regarding the one or more content-type specific representations is received with the image.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising analyzing the image and predicting the time required to recognize the image based on features contained in the image.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more content-type specific representations of the image are selected from black text on white background, black and white natural images, color natural images, black and white diagrams, color diagrams, headings, and color text.
 11. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining the one or more content-type specific representations included in the one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein integrating the recognition results comprises consideration of at least one factor selected from a competence factor associated with the recognition results, context information for the recognition results, surface area of an image segment, and prior probability of correctness for the one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein the integrated result includes a determination that a same recognition result was produced by the content-type specific index tables.
 14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium including a computer-readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to: receive an image; produce, with one or more processors, one or more content-type specific representations of the image; submit the one or more content-type specific representations to one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables for recognition; receive recognition results from the one or more content-type specific index tables; integrate the recognition results into an integrated result based on a level of agreement between the recognition results; and transmit the integrated result.
 15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein information regarding the one or more content-type specific representations is received with the image.
 16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable program causes the computer to analyze the image and predicting the time required to recognize the image based on features contained in the image.
 17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the one or more content-type specific representations are selected from black text on white background, black and white natural images, color natural images, black and white diagrams, color diagrams, headings, and color text.
 18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable program causes the computer to determine the one or more content-type specific representations included in the one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables.
 19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein integrating the recognition results comprises consideration of at least one factor selected from a competence factor associated with the recognition results, context information for the recognition results, surface area of an image segment, and prior probability of correctness for the one or more corresponding content-type specific index tables.
 20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the integrated result includes a determination that a same recognition result was produced by the content-type specific index tables. 